Bitcoin and Ether fell during Wednesday afternoon trading hours in Hong Kong, while most of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization strengthened. Most major cryptocurrencies increased in the past 24 hours, despite news of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suing Coinbase exchange a day after it initiated legal action against Binance.
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Top cryptos up despite SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase
Bitcoin fell 1.15% from 6:50 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong to US$26,805. Ether fell 0.37% in the same timeframe, to US$1,874.
“Bitcoin needs to overcome US$28,000. It has to close above US$28,000 [weekly] to be bullish,” wrote Johnny Louey, a crypto research analyst at trading platform LiquidityTech Protocol, in a Telegram message to Forkast.
The world’s first cryptocurrency increased 4.32% in the past 24-hours, despite news of the SEC suing Coinbase a day after it sued Binance. Ether strengthened 3.23%.
“The SEC’s crackdown on Coinbase signals a shift towards greater regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. This move could have significant implications for the future of cryptocurrency, as it may lead to increased scrutiny and oversight of digital assets,” Kadan Stadelmann, chief technical officer of blockchain infrastructure development firm Komodo, told Forkast in a statement.
“It is clear that regulatory compliance will become increasingly important for cryptocurrency businesses moving forward, as they seek to navigate an evolving landscape of laws and regulations.”
Dogecoin was the day’s biggest gainer, up 4.4% to US$0.06947, followed by Bitcoin. Cardano’s ADA saw the biggest loss, falling 3.29% to US$0.3411.
The total crypto market capitalization over the 24 hours rose 2.92% to US$1.12 trillion, while trading volume rose 2.75 % to US$47.27 billion.
Ethereum NFT sales gain as Bitcoin NFT sales lose momentum
The Forkast 500 NFT index inched down 0.16% to 3,278.43 points in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong while falling 4.18% during the week.
Ethereum’s 24-hour NFT sales rose 31.32% to US$32.97 million, boosted by sales of Bored Ape Yacht Club that rose 1.35% to US$16.3 million and sales for the Mutant Ape Yacht Club that strengthened 2.62% to US$1.9 million. 24-hour sales for Art Block rose 11.6% to US$1.3 million, while Azuki sales dropped 36.99% to US$1.7 million.
Bitcoin’s 24-hour NFT sales declined 64.24% to US$3.4 million, as interest in Ordinals inscriptions temporarily subsided.
Among Forkast Labs NFT indexes, the Forkast POL NFT Composite was the only one in the green, rising 4.84% in the past 24 hours to 1,053.90 points.
Asian equities mixed, U.S. futures fall following World Bank’s warning
Asian equities were mixed during Wednesday afternoon trading, driven by a red day in U.S. stock futures. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.076%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.82% decrease, and the Shenzhen Component Index dipped 0.%.
Investor sentiment was dampened by weak trade data from China that showed exports tumbled and imports fell less than expected in the world’s second-largest economy.
Adding to downbeat investor sentiment, the World Bank warned about the fragility of the global economy, saying that high interest rates could cause issues in lower income economies. The World Bank projected global growth to decelerate from 3.1% in 2022 to 2.1% in 2023, in its latest Global Economic Prospects report.
U.S. stock futures declined as of 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.13%, the S&P 500 futures index inched down 0.12%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 futures weakened by 0.24%, after closing yesterday’s session at a nine-month high.
Major European bourses slipped, as investors awaited the European Central Bank’s meeting next week for a decision on interest rates. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.15% and Germany’s DAX 40 declined 0.36%.
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